Unlike post-mortem analysis, a pre-mortem risk assessment attempts to learn from failure before a project even begins, according to RIMS new Executive Report, ‘The Pre-Mortem Method: Learning From Failure Without Actually Failing’.
Authored by RIMS Strategic and Enterprise Risk Management Council members Denise Sobczak and Michael Zuraw, the report highlights the advantages of implementing a pre-mortem risk assessment approach to strategic projects. The report also provides three steps for risk professionals to activate a pre-mortem assessment that fosters a better understanding of a project’s overall objectives, and ultimately improves transparency, communication, and business outcomes.
“While companies put a lot of resources and effort into strategic initiatives, research shows that such projects fail at alarming rate,” the report notes. “The pre-mortem method can be applied to strategic projects by first assuming failure, then identifying the triggers of that failure, and developing plans to avoid or mitigate them to achieve success.”
The report is initially available to RIMS members and is open to all after May 16th 2025.
